Chapter 37

Weren't you here to catch a thief?

As evening fell, the two hurriedly returned to the clothing shop, where Lu Pan'an had already neatly arranged all the clothes, waiting for them to return so he could close the shop and lock the door.

After Lu Pan'an left, Lu Qin and Hao Jingshi rested at the clinic for a while before returning to their residence together.

Lu Qin thought the theft was over, so she left only two guards to watch over the clothing shop.

To their surprise, when they arrived at the clinic early the next morning, they found that the window had been smashed again, the room was in a mess, and two bodyguards were lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of blood next to them.

"It's an anesthetic."

As Lu Qin looked around, Hao Jingshi knelt down on one knee and checked the breaths of the guards. "The medicine is quite potent."

He got up, scooped up a ladle of cold water, and splashed it on the faces of the guards to wake them up.

The guards slowly opened their sleepy eyes, looked at each other, and then sat up in a daze.

After a moment of disorientation, a cool breeze blew in through the broken window, bringing a refreshing coolness to their damp faces, and they finally came to their full senses.

"Young master, please forgive us." The two men hurriedly knelt down. "It was our negligence. We rushed in as soon as we saw the thief, but the thief attacked us at close range, dodged our swords, and even covered our mouths and noses with a handkerchief."

"Not only did you not expect this, but I didn't expect it either. This thief is so incorrigible that he dares to come a second time."

Hao Jingshi coldly tossed the water ladle in his hand back into the copper basin, splashing water everywhere.

"Can you see the other person's face clearly now?"

The guards all lowered their heads in unison.

"This servant is incompetent. The medicine was too potent, and he was wrapped up tightly, so he fell asleep instantly..."

"This servant only saw that the thief was very tall, neither fat nor thin, and seemed to be a man."

As they spoke, they secretly glanced up to see Hao Jingshi's reaction.

Seeing his displeasure, they knew they would be scolded, so they lowered their heads even further.

However, Lu Qin spoke first.

"Is this blood on the ground from the thieves?" she asked. "Are you two injured?"

"We are unharmed. It was we who stabbed the thief several times," the two guards said, flattered. "But he still managed to escape."

Lu Qin thought to herself, "This thief must be quite skilled in combat, able to fight two of Hao's secret guards by himself."

“The thieves came prepared, it’s not your fault, it was my carelessness, I shouldn’t have left only the two of you here.” She called to Ling’er, “Ling’er, take them back to the manor to rest, and call the other guards to come and keep watch, remember to bring a few more people.”

"yes."

Ling'er flicked her handkerchief and agreed.

The two guards breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the young master had no objections, they quickly got up from the ground, thanked the young mistress, and took their leave with Ling'er.

After the group left, Lu Qin and Hao Jingshi checked the items separately and found that not only the latest design drafts were missing, but also some loose silver.

Lu Qin felt something was amiss.

If the thief was short of money, why didn't he steal it last time? Could it be that the two thieves were not the same person?

After thinking for a while, she decided to stay with the guards and see what was going on.

Hao Jingshi initially thought it was unnecessary, but seeing her persistence, he agreed to accompany her.

He analyzed the thief's injuries based on the bloodstains and guessed that the thief would not return for at least five days.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin ordered her servants to repair the window, and the two returned to their respective territories, busying themselves as usual.

Five days later.

In the evening, the setting sun casts its rays.

After closing the clothing shop, Lu Qin, seeing that it was still long, returned to the mansion with Hao Jingshi for a meal. She asked Xuan Lan to bring food to the guards and have them keep watch near the clinic.

As the moonlight entered the room, the two greeted their parents and then headed to the clinic together under the cover of night, hiding nearby to observe secretly.

The two men each carried a straw hat that Ling'er had just woven to conceal themselves, preparing to capture the thief in one fell swoop.

But the thieves never appeared, even after midnight.

As night deepened, it became so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. No one passed by anymore, and it was so quiet that even the breathing of the guards in the trees could be heard.

Lu Qin yawned sleepily, her legs almost numb from squatting, so she simply pulled Hao Jingshi's robe down to cushion her bottom and sat down on the ground.

Hao Jingshi glanced at his robes and said softly, "If you're sleepy, then go back."

Lu Qin remained silent for another quarter of an hour, but finally, she was so sleepy that her eyelids were drooping: "Let's go, husband. We need to bring a blanket tomorrow."

Then the next day.

The shadows of the trees on the ground were hazy, and occasionally a gentle breeze would blow, causing the branches to tremble and the shadows to sway along with them.

Everyone held their breath and waited. Occasionally, when they heard footsteps, they would watch the side warily, but only a few unrelated pedestrians passed by.

An hour later, the streets were deserted and desolate.

Two hours later, there was still no sign of the thief.

Three hours later.

Lu Qin, wrapped in a blanket, collapsed into Hao Jingshi's arms, feeling dizzy and disoriented. When she opened her eyes again, it was already the morning of the third day.

Hao Jingshi told her that the thief hadn't come last night.

"It's not that I'm afraid of thieves stealing things, it's that I'm afraid of thieves with cunning minds."

Lu Qin was a little discouraged. She stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon and mumbled to herself.

"But that makes sense. If you're already a thief, how can you come here every day? It's not like you're clocking in for work."

Hearing her mumble a string of words he couldn't understand, Hao Jingshi went over and reached out to touch her forehead.

It didn't burn.

Perhaps I haven't been sleeping well these past few days and am a little confused.

...

Hao Jingshi advised Lu Qin to rest, but Lu Qin was determined to catch the thief and even decided to sleep in the clinic.

Hao Jingshi was very puzzled, but he still had bedding brought over, made a makeshift bed on the floor, and stayed with her.

The two chatted and laughed as they sketched the clothing design. Gradually, the shops on the street closed their doors and turned off their lights, and the surroundings became quiet.

Judging that it was about time, Lu Qin extinguished the candles on the counter, pretending that the place was empty.

Seeing this, the guards also hid themselves in the dense foliage, becoming one with the tree.

The sky was overcast today, the moon was completely surrounded by dark clouds, and the trees were dark and there was nothing unusual about them.

From a distance, the clinic appeared completely dark, as if no one was there, and there seemed to be nothing amiss.

After extinguishing the candles, Lu Qin groped her way to the prepared bedding in the dark. Fortunately, the clinic was small, and she knew the layout of the furniture well enough that she didn't bump into anything.

"Husband," she whispered to Hao Jingshi, "Are you lying down?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt as if she had stepped on something soft, so she quickly pulled her foot back and squatted down.

"Mmm." Hao Jingshi lifted the blanket and waited for her to lie down.

Lu Qin hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet, so she knelt on the mattress, reached out, and groped around on his body to see which way his head was facing.

To make it easier to catch the thief, neither of them changed into their sleeping clothes and continued wearing their original clothes.

She touched him a couple of times with her hands, one above the other, and Hao Jingshi suddenly exclaimed "Hey!"

He then pressed her hand down.

Lu Qin paused for a moment, sensing something was wrong through the soft fabric, and quickly pulled her hand away.

Only then did I gradually make out the outline of the person in front of me.

"It's not a good time to seduce me."

Hao Jingshi stared at her, his eyes burning and swirling in the darkness, as if they were about to glow.

"…………"

Lu Qinzhen felt incredibly embarrassed.

She immediately lay down, her back to him, awkwardly curling her toes.

Although she always teased him in various ways, when it came to something serious, her mind was as hard as ice on a freezing winter day, and her face was as red as a lotus flower reflecting the sun.

Every night, when the two of them shared a bed, she felt too embarrassed to do anything inappropriate.

However, Hao Jingshi didn't seem to have any particular thoughts. After she crawled into bed, he held her and went to sleep quietly.

He fell asleep quickly, leaving her to stare blankly at his handsome face, so shy that even her breathing became disordered.

Thinking of this, Lu Qin felt very embarrassed and quickly pulled the quilt over herself.

But this effort was futile.

After a moment of silence, Hao Jingshi moved closer to her and hugged her from behind.

"To be honest, I've never quite understood why Madam seems to become mute every night, rarely saying a word."

"I..." Lu Qin grabbed the corner of the blanket, wanting to explain that she really just couldn't see clearly just now.

But the warm breaths on her neck, one after another, made her weak all over and unable to utter a single word.

As if testing her, the person behind her gently kissed her neck.

Lu Qin breathed weakly. What a careless touch! Now even if she jumped into the Qinghe River, she would be washed yellow.

But so be it, she's been eyeing Hao Jingshi for a while now anyway.

Lu Qin thought to herself, then nervously turned over, tilting her head slightly to meet his gaze.

Hao Jingshi seemed to understand her tacit consent, and carefully lowered his head to kiss her forehead, the tip of her nose, her cheeks, and her earlobes one by one.

Seeing that she reciprocated, he continued kissing her all the way, finally burying his flushed face in her chest and letting out a muffled laugh.

"Weren't we here to catch a thief?"

Lu Qin felt her skin tremble and instantly closed her eyes.

"We've been guarding this place for several days now, maybe the thieves won't come."

Her hands, which didn't know where to go, were twirling in his hair. Normally, she couldn't reach that height, and only when he was in bed could she look him in the eye.

Feeling his hair roots being pulled, Hao Jingshi raised his head again.

"Xuan Lan, Xuan Lan is still outside..."

Lu Qin paused for a moment before realizing that, to ensure everything was in order, she had Xuan Lan stay in the tree closest to the clinic, which was also his favorite tree to climb.

She muttered, "Then, never mind..."

Xuan Lan has exceptional hearing; if he were to hear anything, the two of them would be too ashamed to face him.

Hao Jingshi sensed the regret in her words and his Adam's apple bobbed: "No."

Regardless of whether it's to catch a thief or not, I'm definitely not going to sleep tonight.

He rolled over, pulled the blanket over himself, hugged the person in his arms, and kissed them passionately.

...

The two eventually stopped their agitation, only awkwardly going through the motions.

Then, still carrying each other's lingering scent, they straightened their clothes and, still feeling unsatisfied, leaned against each other to recover, their heads spinning.

Lu Qin touched her flushed face. Fortunately, it was dark all around and no one could see her.

"We've been guarding this place for days, but no thieves have come. What's the point?"

After a while, Hao Jingshi leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Why don't we have the guards keep watch tomorrow and go back to the manor? Otherwise, Father and Mother will be unhappy."

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin was momentarily shaken.

Hao Jingshi's words made sense. Staying outside all the time was not a solution; her in-laws would definitely think she was causing trouble with her husband.

Besides, it had another meaning behind it, which was exactly what she wanted.

She muttered "Okay" as she thought about it.

However, before he could finish speaking, a rustling sound was heard.

It looked like someone was rummaging through the window.

The two of them, anticipating what was happening, sat up abruptly and remained silent.

Hao Jingshi took out the short sword he had hidden beforehand, held his breath, and waited for the thief to come in.

Their plan was to stab the thief first when he sneaked in, preventing him from launching a sneak attack, then break down the door, lock him in, and have the guards capture him.

Unexpectedly, the thieves learned their lesson this time and did not act rashly. Instead, they burned a small hole in the window first.

A stick of incense slowly emerged from the hole, its tip glowing red.

Before the thieves even entered the door, acrid white smoke drifted over. Seeing this, Hao Jingshi covered Lu Qin's mouth and nose with one hand from behind and moved towards the door.

But the white smoke drifted closer and closer, and the two of them couldn't avoid it in time. In just a moment, they felt their eyes go blind, their bodies went limp, and they collapsed to the ground together.

Only after listening carefully and hearing no further movement inside did the thieves begin to break the window.

Xuan Lan, who was in the tree, had been observing from the shadows. When she saw the thief burn a small hole in the window, she realized something was wrong.

This time, the thief actually used a sleeping potion first.

Without thinking twice, he leaped down and grabbed the thief by the neck from behind.

The thief heard the commotion, but was unable to dodge in time and was pinned down, and began to struggle to fight back.

When the two were locked in a stalemate, the thief pulled out a knife from his pocket and stabbed Xuan Lan in the forearm.

Xuan Lan's brow trembled with pain, and after being kicked again, he staggered and crashed into the wall.

Seeing the thief grab his belongings and try to escape, Xuan Lan immediately raised his uninjured hand to his lips and whistled loudly.

[Author's Note]

Note: "The lotus blossoms, bathed in sunlight, are exceptionally red" is from Yang Wanli's poem "Leaving Jingci Temple at Dawn to See Lin Zifang Off".